Spain's Banco Popular reports falling profits

Spain's Banco Popular on Wednesday posted a 25% drop in first half net profit, beating forecasts even though it hiked provisions against soured assets as lending revenue fell slightly less than expected from a year ago.

Popular, Spain's 6th-biggest bank by market value, said profit was EU128.5 Mln in the January-June period, above of EU124 Mln expected by analysts polled by Reuters.

The bank said net interest income, or earnings on loans minus deposit costs, was EU1.13 Bln in the first half of the year, down nearly 9% from a year ago.